Today marks the beginning of the end of the 118th Congress, and Congress returns to Washington with a sizable to-do list but only 24 legislative days left in this lame duck session.
In that time, Congress will attempt to pass the National Defense Authorization Act to fund our military, as well as extend payments for continued telehealth authorization, and lastly, pass a bill to fund the government beyond Dec. 20.
After long months of committed work throughout this Congress, we were proud to secure passage of PBM reform legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives, and out of Senate Committees. NCPA continues to work with legislators to make sure PBM reform policies that will tremendously benefit community pharmacies' bottom line are included in any potential end-of-year package. But this is where we need your help!
There is a letter circulating that will ask congressional leadership in both the House of Representatives and the Senate to make sure PBM reform is included at the end of the year. We are asking you to urge your members of Congress to sign on to the letter, showing a unified support for:
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Improved pharmacy payments in Medicaid managed care programs by requiring a national standard for PBMs to reimburse NADAC plus the state's fee-for-service dispensing fee for all Medicaid managed care prescriptions. This provision would improve pharmacy reimbursements in over 30 states that have Medicaid managed care, as well as enshrine protection for the few states that have already acted.
Requiring CMS to establish reasonable and relevant Medicare Part D PBM contract terms, including pharmacy reimbursements, and create a role where pharmacies can dispute PBM contracts allowing CMS to then impose penalties on PBMs.
These provisions have received overwhelming bipartisan support, are on the short list for passage at the end of the year and open the door to further reforms in the future.
Please click here to urge your representative to sign on to this bipartisan letter urging congressional leadership to include these measures in any year-end bill. The more members who sign, the more solid the support for PBM reform by leadership!
